Pen guard



April 16, 1940. K. W. MCPHERSON 2,197,002

PEN GUARD Filed Dec. 1, 1937 mndh/W cpherson a as Patented Apr. 16, 1940 2,197,002 PEN GUARD v PATENT OFFICE Kenneth W."McPherson, "Palmyra, Y.

'- Application December 1, 1.937, Serial No. 177.623

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in writing. pens, and its fundamental purpose is to eifect easier and more economical writing, the ink being conserved considerably.

It is common knowledge with persons who have given the matter any degree of attention and study, that as much if not more ink is lost by evaporation than is used in writing. Contrary to whatinight be regarded as popular belief, the protecting cap of a fountain pen does not afford the absolute protection against evaporation that one might'expect.

It is not the object of the invention to prevent ink. evaporation from'a fountain pen when the screw cap is in place because this. is an inherent effect which is not readily overcome. But when a fountain pen is laid down with the nib exposed,

'it is possible to prevent a large percentage of evaporation and it is protection against this evaporation that is more particularly afforded by the invention.

Another prolific source of ink loss, other than that occasioned by actual writing is the periodic flooding and spurting of ink at the point, particularly in fountain pens. This troublesome effect is usually accompanied by an ink spot on the paper, and the ink spot is enabled tofall from the point because there is nothing to stop it.

With these difiiculties in mind, attention is directed to the invention, the objects of which are as follow:

First, to provide a guard for the nib .or point of writing pens for the purposes of conserving the ink supply by retarding evaporation, retaining the ink in a wet state extremely near the writing tip, preventing concentration :of the ink and hence dark writing at the beginning of use of the pen, and preventing both flooding and spurting to a considerable degree. 1 I

Second, to provide a guard for thenibs 0f pens, forming a small pocket in the very tip. of

the guard to contain the ink, and facilitate free starting and proper flow of ink.

Third, to provide a guard-for fountain pens to prevent or at least lessen the excessive gathering of ink at the end of the nib, thus effecting more even-flowwriting.

Other objects and adv antages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a fountain pen illustrating one of several types of guards attached to the nib.

- on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a partial plan view of a fountain pen illustrating the application of another type of guard to thenib. li-

Figure A is a plan view of a portion of a fountain pen illustrating the application 'of a third-type of guard to the nib.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section taken onthe line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Figure 61s a plan view of a portion of a fountain pen illustrating the application of 1 a fourth type of guard to the nib.

Figure '7 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 1-1 ofFig. 6. I a

Figure 8 is a plan view of a fifthtype of pen guard.

Figure -9 is a partially elevational and sectional view illustrating the application of the type of guard in Fig.- 4 tea fountain pen --and 1 showing a knurling. I

Figure 10 is a magnified cross-section taken on the line ll-l0 of Fig. 9.

A desirable substance out of which to make the guards isCelluloid or such other moldable plasticas cellulose nitrate or acetate, or some similar compound or composition. This material has a degree ofyieldability so that it can he slipped into place, and has the added advantage of being'glossy, so that it can be'used in conjunction a with fountain pen nibs, which are not made .of gold. Theguard may be constructed'of rubber or metal, in whole or in part.

Reference is made to the drawing. In each instance the guard is designated 3. It is slipped onto the nib in the manner illustrated. For this purpose the point 4 of the guard either has a hole, as in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, or is split as in Figs.-1', 2 and 8 to contain the point of the nib.

'Thefirst form of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 1., Here the guard 3 is applied to the nib 13 of the fountain pen M, 'In this instance the guard comprises a relatively extensive nether wall l5 (Fig. 2) which covers most of the feed bar 16. This nether wall merges into side portions 11 (Fig. 1) which touch the sides of the-nib I3 and close in upon the convex surface'of the latter to a slight extent, asflindicated at 18. These side portions are connected by a 0 bridge l9 which in this case completely closes the nib perforation 20, the customary slit 2! being left unobstructed.

In order that the slit .Zl may not be restricted injanysense, thegnard' end .4 (Fig. 1) ismade open at 22 The lateral portions of the nib are free to flex, but the point end 4 being open at 22 does not obstruct this flexing in the least.

It will be noticed in Figs. 1 and 2 that the guard provides a virtually complete closure for the perforation in the nib. The purpose of this closure is to prevent to a high degree evaporation of the ink.

Attention is next directed to the second modification in Fig. 3. Here the guard 3 comprises an almost complete enclosure for the nib of the fountain pen [4. Provision is made of a collar 23, the purpose of which is to diminish the possibility of the ink running out on the outside of the guard should ink well out from inside of the i In the event of making this guard 3 of I It is common knowledge that fountain pens t have irregular ways of acting, some holding the ink. back and others allowing it to temporarily Well out. The collar 23 tends to prevent drops of ink from flowing over onto the guard and should there be any Welling out the right side of the collar, the latter will afford enough of an obstruction to hold the ink until the user has had time to remove it with a blotter.

Figure 4 illustrates the third type of guard. The general configuration of this guard is the same as that in Fig. 1, the main exception being that a reservoir wall 24 is employed instead of leaving the guard open as at 22 in Fig. 1. A bridging wall is again employed as the closure for the customary nib perforation, and a further distinction resides in making the nether wa1l'26 (Fig. 5) thicker than in the other. forms. The purpose and advantage of the thickened wall is insurance against relaxing of the rubber and a consequent loosening of the guard from the feed bar.

guard 3 wherein the structure 'Z'l on the convex side of the nib resembles a frame. ihe guard has a nether wall 28 (Fig. '7) as in Figs. 2 and 5.

The socalled frame structure (Fig. 6)'includes a holding band 28 and instead of there being a makes the mid extension 3!! sufiiciently stiff to serve the purpose. I

Figure 8 is an illustration of a type of guard as in Fig. 1, but, omitting the bridge I9 there shown. The side portions ila close in at i801. as before, but the absence of a bridge at 3| is to be noted. This is the first one of all of the forms in which the nib perforation Ella isleft open, showing that only types of guards which close this perforation are not necessarily adhered to.

Figures 9 and 10 are primarily intended to illustrate means other than thickening of the rubber (Fig. 5) for preventing the guard from slipping 01f of the nib; It is obviously necessary Figure 6 illustrates the fourth type of the to have the guard stay in place, yet averyclose fit upon the nib is not so desirable. The remedy i according to Figs. 9 and 10, is a knurling 38.

This knurling or some equivalent roughening is produced on the inner surface of the ring or Wall 39.

In Fig, 9 the guard .3 is fitted upon the nib I and feed bar 4! of the fountain pen 42.

confinement of the knurling to the showing in Figs. 9 and 10 does not mean that the other types of guards are not subject to similar treatment. Any one or all of the previous types are intended to be supplemented with a roughening of some kind to contact the pen parts and thus facilitate movement of the ink and insure the retention of the guard especially in cases where there is a little inherent looseness due to uncon trollable differences in nib sizes.

By manipulating the guard off and on the size of the nib opening can be minutely'regulated,

and it can be fixed in the place desired. In gen-' eral the device is movedoutward to increase ink flow and to facilitate air-intake, but it may in.

some cases be to increase the space for' ink around the feed bar. When the guard is way on, the exposure of ink to the air is'at a minimum.

This reservation also ment of a finger-piece 39a, shown in Figs. 2 and 9, but capable of combination with any one of the other modifications. This so-calledfingerpiece provides a place behind which one can catch his finger nail for facilitating pulling the guard 01f.

applies .to the employ-H It will be understood from the foregoing description that there is no hard and fast rule about how to make the pen guard or what material to construct it of. The various modifica-v result from the use of a guard of one type or.

another:

First, the evaporation of ink is lessened because less of its surface in the concave of the nib is exposed to the air than in ordinary dip and fountain pens.

Second, because of the fact that the quantity of ink, namely, that amount which is held in the point of the nib, is protected from the air to such a large degree there is less drying and consequently. quicker and better starting in writing.

Third, the flow of ink is made much more uniform than in pens not protected by a guard, and

working with a fountain pen an average of 120 words per 1 drop of ink can be regularly written.

Fourth, occasionally the first few letters written with a fountain-pen that has not been used for a time, perhaps a day, are noticeably dark. This is due to thefact that there has been some evaporation of moisture and a consequent concentration of the coloring matter at the point of the nib. This annoyance is lessened because to this disclosure, may be left lying flat on the table or either point up or'point down, and yet it will start to write promptly and will remain quick-starting for a longer time.

In conclusion it is desired to state that another result of the use of some types of the guard is that cheaper material can be used in making pen nibs. Persons usually pride themselves upon 1 the bright and glittering appearance of a. gold less steel or some substance commonly used in nib manufacture, and, an expensive gold plating is not needed. g v

I claim; f i 1. A pen guard comprising a member to be fitted upon a nib, said member consisting of a.

covering portion substantially covering one of the 'sidesof'the nib, said covering portion merging into laterally positioned and longitudinally extending marginal portions to grip the longitudinal margins of the nib and to lap over onto the ing edges in confronting relationship contiguous other side of the nib, said marginal portions havto said ,othernib side.

2.'A pen guard comprising a member to be fitted upon a nib, said'member consisting of a covering portion substantially covering one of the'sides of the nib, said covering portion merging into laterally positioned and longitudinally extending marginal portions to grip the longitudinal'margins of the nib, said marginal portions narrowly overlapping the other side of the nib, being closely spaced from the longitudinal margins of the nib and having their edges in confronting relationship. Y i

1 3. A fountain penguard comprising a member to be fitted upon a nib, said member including a relatively extensive nether Wall to cover most of the feed bar of said pen, and marginal por-v tions into which said nether wall merges,grip-' ping the longitudinal margins of the nib and extending slightly over the convex side thereof,

the extremities of said portions appearing on top of said convex side being spaced from each other so that the guard is open on top at the front and l rear.

4. A pen guard-comprising a member to be fitted 'upon a nib,.said member including means bridging the concave side of the nib to form a reservoir with said side, marginal portions into which said bridging means merge, said marginal portions following parts of the nib margin leaving medial portions of the back of the nib exposed, and a wall receded from each ofthe guard member extremities connecting said marginal portions and being superimposed upon the nib back.

5.,A pen guard comprising a member to be fitted upon a nib, said member consisting of a covering portion substantially covering one of the sides of the nib, said covering portion merging into laterallypositioned and longitudinally extending marginal" portions to grip the longitudinal margins of the nib and to lap over the edges of said nib being closely spaced in from the nib margins, a wall springing from and con-= meeting said marginal portions, and knurling on the underside of said Wall, facilitating the ink KENNETH W. M CPHERSO Nr 

